Printer Friendly Version - Lequire Becomes the All-Time Leading Scorer for North Branford Boys’ Hoops

North Branford senior Brett Lequire became the top scorer in North Branford boys’ hoops history when the T-Birds defeated Shepaug Valley 70-56 in the second round of the Division V State Tournament on March 8. Pictured are Lequire’s parents, Curt and Michele, with Lequire and Head Coach Dave Parness. Photo courtesy of Nick DeLizio

Senior Brett Lequire became the all-time leading scorer in the history of the North Branford boys’ basketball program when the 7th-seeded Thunderbirds posted a 70-56 home victory over No. 10 seed Shepaug Valley in the second round of the Division V State Tournament on March 8. The T-Birds later took a loss against Canton in the quarterfinals to finish with a record of 15-8 this year.

Lequire scored 39 points in the win against Shepaug to break 2000 graduate Chris Tracz’s school record for the most points scored as a member of the North Branford boys’ basketball team. Lequire finished his high-school career with 1,902 points for the T-Birds.

“It feels amazing, especially since I was convinced to come to North Branford High School by one of my old coaches, Steve Saunders. He pointed up at the 1,000-point banner when I was in 8th grade and said, ‘You will be up there if you come here,’” Lequire said. “I knew all I needed was another basket to break the record. I’ve never felt so good when I made the shot and the crowd was loud.”

Additionally in the win versus Shepaug, senior Jake Haeckel scored 13 points, junior Matt Cosgrove had seven points, and senior Sean Esposito added five points for North Branford.

Unfortunately, North Branford’s playoff run ended in the Division III quarterfinals when they took a 76-37 loss at No. 2 seed Canton on March 10. Haeckel scored 14 points, Esposito had nine points, and Lequire scored seven points for North Branford.

The North Branford boys’ ice hockey squad won its first-round game in the Division II State Tournament, before taking a 2-1 overtime loss to Conard in a quarterfinal game at Trinity College on March 9. The 5th-seeded Thunderbirds finished their season at 14-8-1.

North Branford won its state tourney opener by defeating No. 12 seed East Haven-Old Lyme-Old Saybrook-East Hampton by a 3-1 score at Northford Ice Pavilion on March 6. Both teams played solid offensive games as the T-Birds fired 35 shots on goal to the Yellowjackets’ 41. Senior John Lovelace recorded 40 saves in the winning effort for North Branford, which saw Sean McKee net a pair of goals. Nick Poulin also scored for a goal for North Branford, while Jake Neubig had two assists.

The North Branford cheerleading team competed at the Class M State Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on March 4. The T-Birds scored a total of 114.1 points to take 17th place out of 20 teams at the meet. Wolcott finished in first place, and Oxford took second place. The T-Birds had previously posted an fourth-place performance at the inaugural Shoreline Conference Championship.

Brett Lequire finished his tenure with T-Birds’ boys’ hoops with a career total of 1,902 points, which is the most by anyone to ever play for the team. Photo by Susan Lambert/The Sound

John Lovelace made 40 saves when the North Branford boys’ ice hockey squad defeated East Haven in the first round of states, after which the T-Birds took a 2-1 overtime loss versus Conard in the quarterfinals. Photo by Kelley Fryer/The Sound